Americans Are Stressed Out About Healthcare Costs And Reform
As debate over healthcare reform converges with the holiday season, most Americans report that they are stressed out and worried about the effects of reform and about increasing healthcare costs. These results were reported in a new study based on a phone survey of a representative sample of 1,008 Americans conducted last month.
One of the most interesting findings is that 53% of respondents said that the cost of healthcare causes stress in their lives. One in three reported that the cost of healthcare has caused arguments or tension between themselves and their families and friends. Moreover, 52% said that the cost of healthcare has impacted their spending habits.
With the survey conducted at the beginning of the holiday season, 40% of Americans expect to spend less during the holidays this year because of increasing healthcare costs.
In relation to the healthcare reform debate, the majority of Americans have been following the debate and many of them are frustrated or annoyed with it. More specifically, 50% reported frustration while 41% reported annoyance with the debate. One third say the debate makes them feel angry (30%), anticipatory (29%), tense (28%) and helpless (28%), whereas only 27% feel optimistic and 11% feel excited.
The reason behind these negative feelings seems to be related to concerns over the expected effects of reform. For example, the majority of the respondents are concerned about the impact of reform on the cost to future generations (84%), about the cost of out pocket expenses (83%), and about the accessibility to and quality of coverage (82%). A smaller but still significant percentage (73%) are concerned about lack of doctors and healthcare providers, and about lack of choice in terms of where to go for healthcare (71%). Two out of three (65%) are also concerned about long lines at doctor offices and clinics.
In my next post, I will discuss other results from the survey that relate to the effects of recession on healthcare utilization.
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